Truly great combat needs more than just monsters go bop. At its most boring, everyone stands still, exchanging hits over and over. It’s repetitive, lacks tactical challenge, and often hurts narrative flow. To make these fights fun, monster attacks should hurt more than just hit points.
When Monsters Just Bop
Many adventures—both official and unofficial—default to bop. Enemies attack the player characters’ (PCs’) hit points until, hopefully, the heroes prevail; enemies don’t run away, call for help, or do anything besides basic attacks. Their only objective is being an obstacle to player progress. Often, they’re just draining character resources to make future fights more difficult. They’re making sure the PCs don’t get to the Big Bad Evil Guy too soon.
Used very occasionally, these types of encounters can work well. Enemies that don’t run away, that stand and fight until they fall, become horrifying because of their inhumanity. But this is only interesting if everything else behaves naturally. They are the exception to the rule. In The Terminator, Schwatzenegger’s enemies act rashly, run away, get injured, and die easily to highlight the terminator’s inhumanity.
In a masterclass of narrative development, Terminator 2: Judgment Day flips this. Schwatzenegger’s T-800 changes its role, relentless hunter becoming fearless protector. With its learning chip switched on, the T-800 begins to understand human behaviour. When Schwatzenegger’s character says “I understand now why you cry,” it’s not experiencing feelings; it’s learning the reasons for compassion, understanding the sources and effects of human emotion. However, it’s the contrast with the first film’s T-800, and the updated T-1000 in T2, that makes this interesting. If everyone behaves the same way, no one is special.
Darkest Dungeon: Alternatives to Monsters Go Bop
The most basic way to improve combat is to make enemy attacks more interesting. Redhook Studios’ Darkest Dungeon video game is a brilliant example for gamemasters (GMs) running turn-based combat. In addition to a basic attack, many monsters can also do one of the following:
- hit multiple PCs for lower damage
- hit PCs with a damage-over-time attack
- move PCs around
- move allies around
- force PCs to attack them instead of an ally
- buff allies
- debuff PCs
- summon other monsters
- and cause stress
From this list, stress is perhaps the most important, and most infamous, in the game. Chris Bourassa founded Redhook with Tyler Sigman. He has repeatedly said the pair challenged themselves to build a game focusing on the adventurer’s sword-arm, not the sword. Although respectful to titles like Diablo, they didn’t want players obsessed with improving their characters’ gear. For them, those games forgot the main character. They also thought this style devalued equipment. A +1 sword is only cool until a +2 sword comes along. In turn, that gets immediately dropped for a +3, and so on.
I’d argue giving PCs a stress bar isn’t as effective at humanizing characters as Bourassa claims; it basically works as a secondary health bar. However, it’s great game design. It creates more interesting decisions for the player, and gives monsters more ways to attack the party.
Mixing Up Monsters Go Bop
Like most exciting encounters in tabletop RPGs, enemies almost always attack in mixed groups. This means players often have to choose whether to go after the stress-causing monsters, or the damage dealers. Alternatively, do they attack the healers, creatures casting buffs, summoners, or tanks before they develop too much defence?
More complications come if enemies push melee PCs out of range, or pull fragile PCs into the front rows. Some very dangerous creatures telegraph which row they will hit with a super attack next turn. Players can always move their PCs around, but lose precious actions doing so. The number of hard decisions quickly grows.
Also like most exciting tabletop encounters, monsters fight smart. Tanks will move to the front and protect the weaker stress-causing creatures. Healers and support units try and stay in the backline. PCs with very low health or very high stress get targeted more often as the game goes for the kill.
Actually, many enemy moves don’t cause direct harm to characters; however, they all increase the pressure on the party. This is particularly effective because characters die so easily in Darkest Dungeon. Players know nearly every battle is dangerous, and all battles come with a cost. GMs can find a lot of inspiration here.
More Teamwork, More Brains
Make enemies work in teams. For instance, wolves try to knock PCs prone so their goblin allies can attack with advantage. Ettercaps use their pet giant spiders to web the party and isolate the weak mage. Pixies kite speedy heroes into a treant trap. Four healers stay behind a huge demon, keeping it alive as it tries to smash the party.
Fighting smart also means trying to make the environment give them advantages. My article on verticality looks at this more closely; briefly though, enemies should be trying to use the area to boost their defence or attack whenever it makes sense. They should be using terrain to create choke points and kill zones, or providing opportunities for safe retreat.
Players Mix It Up, Too
It’s important to note in Darkest Dungeon, players have a range of options to counter the enemy. They can push or pull enemies as well. Likewise, they can buff, debuff, and heal. Some attacks will skip an enemy’s turn. Bleed, one of the damage-over-time attacks, is brutal against swinefolk, but useless against undead. Customising character ability options adds to the possibilities; characters of the same class can play very different ways to each other, or even mission to mission.
GMs shouldn’t need to worry about character customisation—players take care of that. However, they can make sure the party have opportunities to pick up interesting non-damaging gear. In my review of Knave 2e, I highlight the book has 100 magic spells; not one of them does direct damage to opponents. Instead, magic is a toolbox players have to be creative with to solve problems; it’s not just automatically choosing fireball. GMs using other systems can encourage this same creativity by dropping interesting gear—and players are always free to request it!
Challenge Players, Don’t Cancel Out Characters
It’s also worth pointing out in Darkest Dungeon, only some bosses can make characters skip turns. Additionally, there’s only one player, and they are running four characters; losing a turn adds tension, but the player is soon choosing actions for the other PCs. In a tabletop game, losing a turn may mean a player does nothing for 10-20 minutes. Although I am against the idea of monsters go bop in fights, GMs shouldn’t be taking characters out of the game, either.
Recently, the old Bethesda Softworks team who made Morrowind did some interviews. In them, one member notes they had two unwritten rules of design: never take the player’s turn; never take their stuff. Groups have different expectations, of course, but I almost never use abilities that stop a player playing the game. Making a player skip their turn feels like removing the point of getting together in the first place.
Lightning Rods: Chances for Players to Feel Cool
Returning to Darkest Dungeon, it’s also worth noting some fights go perfectly to plan. The game isn’t afraid to give players the occasional easy encounter. I believe it’s more fun when encounters are often unbalanced. If every fight was perfectly balanced or too hard, the game would be boring. Additionally, even when monsters fight smart, they very rarely block PC moves completely. Instead, they make the optimal move less obvious.
Again, as with many good tabletop encounters, players aren’t doing the same thing over and over; they are making interesting decisions in an ever-changing situation. However, sometimes it’s good for GMs to let players have an easy choice and feel badass. Mike Shea, aka Sly Flourish, calls these lightning rods.
An example he gives is occasionally have a group of low hit point monsters turn up in a nice, fireball-sized formation for a D&D wizard. Similarly, shoot D&D monks with arrows so they can actually use their arrow-catching ability. Let players use their cool skills. Help the characters feel different from each other.
Some GMs block character abilities with perfect monster or environment combinations. I’m not saying never do this. Some players love facing situations they have to think hard and creatively about. However, any player who loves the mechanics of building characters is getting their fun targeted. I prefer to make the optimal choice less obvious; giving options instead of taking them away; this is especially true if the ability makes a player feel cool.
Alternatives to Monsters Go Bop at The Table
Besides varying monster moves and making them fight smart—when it makes sense—what else can GMs do? This is easier in some systems than others. Like Darkest Dungeon’s stress meter, some games already have an alternative health bar to attack. Call of Cthulhu and The Alien RPG are just two systems that have a stress or sanity meter. Games like The Cypher System and Mothership have a wounds subsystem on top of normal hit points to add possibilities.
However, some systems like Dungeons & Dragons do not. Of course, GMs are free to homebrew or copy from other systems; that is, if they think it would make the group’s experience more fun. There are other ways, though, that don’t need any additional rules or require much tracking.
Hit More Than Hit Points
Alternative inspiration may be found in Delta Green’s bond subsystem. In addition to a character’s physical and mental health, Delta Green also tracks a PC’s relationships with a few key non-player characters (NPCs).
When PCs suffer an attack on their sanity, players can choose to reduce the damage by weakening one of these bonds. It represents the PC struggling mentally, distancing themselves or lashing out at a NPC they care for. The player and GM roleplay this out in a quick cutscene when the opportunity arises.
Players can also weaken bonds by calling in favours. If the NPC dies or the bond weakens to zero, then the character loses this precious resource. On the other hand, players can choose to strengthen bonds between missions instead of improving skills; the character takes the time to socialise and deepen one relationship instead of dedicating time to training.
What makes this so brilliant—in my opinion—is that it offers so much potential. Players get a roleplaying opportunity they can choose to use if they want; it gives them several difficult decisions to make; additionally—and most importantly for my purposes here—it makes encounters a danger to things besides the character. If combat is a risk or reward—don’t ignore beneficial results—that targets more than just hit points, excitement is much easier to provoke. By connecting combat with things like relationships, groups are skyrocketing narrative potential and game immersion.
Time Is A Better Enemy Than Monsters Go Bop
For every encounter, the GM should be asking what is at stake for the characters. Every encounter, players should know what they can gain, and what they can lose. The answers should be something more than just hit points. As in Delta Green, it’s even better when the loss/reward is something more than the PC’s physical health.
Time is often the easiest choice. Blades in the Dark, adapted from Apocalypse World 2e, uses clocks a lot for this purpose. At a glance, these work as simple narrative and mechanical trackers, recording the progress of PC and NPC plans. The group can see how the party’s actions advance, pause, or damage these plans. In fact, these clocks can be brilliant tools of tension, boosting the anticipation and drama at play.
GMs can copy this idea, advancing or reversing a progress meter according to in-game events. For instance, the PCs want to stop a cult from performing an evil ritual. As they explore the cult’s base, they have chances to delay or reverse the ritual’s progress. If they are fast enough, they may only need to fight the cultist leader. However, not stopping certain events, or taking too long in combat—perhaps even entering combat at all—advances progress. Take too long, and the party will have to fight a demon of terrible power.
Clocks can be visible to the players. They can also have descriptions revealing what they’re tracking. I’ve found giving more information creates higher tension and more fun; there are situations when more mystery works better, though.
Other Reasons To Mix Up The Bop
Resources and information are two other useful rewards. GMs describing NPCs carrying two or three potion bottles on their belt encourage targeting them quickly. The reward for speed is double here. If successful, the PC gains a new resource; additionally, they stop the NPC from using the potion against the party.
Useful equipment might be in the enemy’s possession like this. Alternatively, it may be in the area. For instance, in one room there is a box of flash grenades. These could be useful for future encounters. However, both PCs and the monsters could also use them here—wisely or unwisely!—to make the fight feel more dynamic. Again, monsters should fight smart when it makes sense. Let them use the environment to make one combat feel different from the next. One of the problems of monsters go bop is it starts making fights feel all the same.
Regarding information, stopping a monster with important data from escaping is a common encounter idea. Forcing the players to use non-lethal attacks will also likely change the usual tactics. Additionally, there is the question of what to do with the monster when the party get the information. Do they let the enemy go, restrain them, or get rid of them? This could be a narrative opportunity and another interesting decision for the party to make—especially if they have time pressures.
Lastly, another great resource for making fights feel varied and exciting is giving monsters objectives and personalities. This is something I will explore more in part two of making monsters do more than go bop; so please, watch out for that!
Monsters Go Bop Hurts Narrative & Mechanical Potential
Fun needs variety. Making sure players are getting lots of interesting questions needs monsters to do more than just basic attacks all the time. Fighting until death can be powerful, but to be really interesting, it should be the exception, not the rule.
Instead, monsters working cleverly in teams, using the environment with a variety of tactics, is much more exciting. They should be threatening the PCs in ways that go beyond the hit points on the character sheet. NPC relationships, time, resources, and information are just some of the things GMs can offer as risks and rewards.
Giving the monsters goals and personalities is also very effective, but more on that in part two. In the meantime, have a lovely day!
